From Market to Farm: Try an Oregon Farm Stay!

Have you ever thought, while shopping at the farmers market, “I wonder what this farmer’s life is like?”

And then you find out you can actually do this thing called a ‘farm stay’, where you stay overnight (as many nights as you like) on a working farm and find out. Wow!

Or maybe you never thought that at all because: Why would anyone want to go stay on a farm? “Won’t it be boring?”; “Won’t it be dirty?”; “Won’t it be uncomfortable?”, and back to, “Won’t it be boring?”

Hold on there! Farms are never boring – just ask the farmer whose cows got out yesterday. And while farms by their nature deal in dirt, the accommodations where you sleep and eat are clean (of course). As for comfort, farm stays are as varied as the farmers who run them. Pick what works for you – from camping to 5-star accommodations and services.

How do you find farm stays in Oregon? It’s easy. Check out Farm Stay USA, where you can search by state, activity, or other criteria. Can I bring my dog? Are kids welcome? Is the food organic? Can you milk a cow?

A walk in farm boots, if only for the weekend, may just be the start to exploring a new world – to the way you look at the countryside, to what you eat, to how you buy your food, to where you live, even to your next farm stay.

So, step out from the market and onto one of our farms. Whether we welcome you with fresh-baked bread or the opportunity to pitch some hay (or both), this will be one of those experiences to tell friends about and then repeat.

-Scottie Jones, U.S. Farm Stay Association and Leaping Lamb Farm, Alsea OR

Learn more about farming in real life!

Photo and video provided by Farm Stay USA